Nigeria’s instant payment system recognized among world’s best – CBN
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso
Nigeria’s instant payment system recognized among world’s best – CBN
The Central Bank of Nigeria has declared the country’s instant payment system as one of the most advanced globally, citing years of reforms and innovation that have reshaped the nation’s financial landscape.
Director of Payments System Policy at the CBN, Mr Musa Jimoh, made this known on Thursday during the FintechNGR Quarter Two Regulators’ Forum Webinar, themed “Beyond Compliance: Unlocking Innovation with Nigeria’s Open Banking Framework.”
According to Jimoh, Nigeria’s payment ecosystem has evolved significantly, fuelled by a blend of fintech innovation, progressive regulation, and shifting consumer behaviour.
“Our payments happen within seconds, and that’s a very big one for Nigeria as a country,” he said, describing the instant payment system as a reflection of the country’s drive for innovation and financial inclusion.
The forum, which brought together key players in the financial technology space, explored the potential of open banking to deepen financial services and promote collaboration among institutions.
Jimoh noted that the CBN had made deliberate efforts over the years to modernise Nigeria’s financial system, starting as far back as 2006 when it first inaugurated a national payment system vision.
“The journey of payment system development in Nigeria has been long. It started about 2006 when the CBN inaugurated its first payment system vision. The objective was to prepare a roadmap for the development of the payment system in Nigeria,” he said.
One of the pivotal moments, he explained, came in 2010 when the apex bank mandated a switch from magnetic stripe cards to chip-and-PIN cards, a move that led to the widespread adoption of more secure EMV payment cards.
“This was a major turning point for Nigeria,” he noted.
Jimoh traced further developments in the ecosystem to regulatory interventions such as Know Your Customer protocols, mobile banking, agent banking, mobile money, and the cashless policy.
“Today, Nigeria has over 160 different licenses granted to institutions for financial and payment services,” he revealed, adding that financial institutions and switching companies had also upgraded their infrastructure to handle increasing transaction volumes.
He also cited the biometric-based Bank Verification Number as a landmark policy that enabled secure customer identity across platforms.
Touching on the relevance of open banking, Jimoh said it had the potential to boost innovation by enabling developers to build new financial products using customer-permissioned data held by banks.
“Banks are holding onto vast amounts of data that could be leveraged to develop innovative financial products and services. The CBN believes that open banking can help address this challenge by allowing developers to access bank data and create innovative financial products and services. The data must be permissioned, and the customer must give consent before it can be used,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that challenges remain in the implementation of open banking, particularly around the standardisation of APIs and cybersecurity.
To address these, Jimoh said the CBN had set up specialised workstreams focused on solving technical and policy issues surrounding open banking.
“The CBN aims to create an environment where openness, inclusiveness, and innovation drive national economic resilience and prosperity. With a robust regulatory framework, standardised API, and collaboration among stakeholders, open banking could transform Nigeria’s financial landscape,” he said.
Jimoh concluded by reiterating the central bank’s commitment to working with the private sector and regulators to advance innovation and deepen access to financial services across Nigeria.
“The CBN has released regulations and guidelines on open banking and established a regulatory sandbox to support innovation,” he added.
